The second event of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season begins Thursday with the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss.
Sam Burns is the defending champion and the top-ranked player in the field. Field Level Media’s golf experts break down the key tournament notes along with the best bets to win at The Country Club of Jackson.
SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP
Jackson, Miss., Sept. 29-Oct. 2
Course: The Country Club of Jackson (Par 72, 7,461 yards)
Purse: $7.9M (Winner: 1.422M)
Defending Champion: Sam Burns
FedEx Cup leader: Max Homa
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Streaming: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
Twitter: @Sanderson_Champ
BEST BETS
–Burns (+1000 at BetMGM) set the tournament scoring record of 22-under par for the first of his three victories last season. Burns is the pre-tournament favorite and the biggest liability at the sportsbook, where he leads with 9.1 percent of the winning tickets and 13.6 percent of the handle backing him.
–Sahith Theegala (+1800) held the 54-hole lead last year before finishing T8. He is seeking his first PGA Tour win and coming off a T6 two weeks ago. Theegala is the second biggest liability for BetMGM, where he has been supported by 8.1 percent of the tickets and 8.2 percent of the handle.
–J.T. Poston (+2200) has a best finish of third in 2020 in six previous appearances. His odds opened at +2000 but have lengthened a bit despite being third in the field with 5.0 percent of the winning tickets backing him.
–Denny McCarthy (+2800) has seen his odds shorten from +2500. He has cooled off since a stretch of three top-10s in four starts earlier this year, but he finished T17 in Jackson last year.
–Scott Stallings (+2800) is one of seven past champions (2012) in the field and making his eighth consecutive start in the event after reaching the Tour Championship last season.
–Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+4000) posted a 1-0-1 record at the Presidents Cup.
–Harris English (+5000) won twice in 2021 and competed in the Ryder Cup last year but was able to make only 12 starts last year due to hip surgery.
–Byeong Hun An (+6600) is the sportsbook’s third biggest liability this week, having drawn 5.8 percent of the handle to help shorten his odds after opened as a +8000 longshot. An has fallen to 234th in the world rankings but is coming off a T4 at the Fortinet Championship.
NOTES
–Burns made his professional debut at Sanderson Farms in 2017, finishing T43. Burns and Bezuidenhout of South Africa are the two players in the field who also competed in the Presidents Cup.
–Six of the past eight Sanderson Farms winners have also been first-time PGA Tour winners.
–2019 U.S. Open winner Gary Woodland is one of six major champions in the field.
–Louisiana Tech’s Sam Murphy and Southern Miss’ Brice Wilkinson are among the sponsors exemptions, while Ole Miss graduate Jackson Suber will make his first PGA Tour start as a professional.
–Mississippi native Davis Riley is in the field after finishing 33rd in the FedEx Cup as a rookie.
–Field Level Media